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Since Nathan Coy was stopped by Nate Moore in January, 2011, which ended his run with Strikeforce, the rugged vet has remained a presence at welterweight by winning four straight bouts. During the streak the decorated wrestler has scored wins over rising prospect Dhiego Lima and TUF vet Ryan McGillivray, and most recently he locked up a September 27th bout in Bellator.

“It’s huge man; it’s everything I’ve been working for my entire life really, for this moment, this run” Coy said during a recent appearance on Full Contact Fighter Radio. “I get my first fight for Bellator in my hometown and with the win I’m in the welterweight tournament. With three wins in there I fight Ben Askren.”

While Askren has been Bellator’s reigning champ for some time now, recently the promotion’s CEO Bjorn Rebney relayed they likely wouldn’t resign the free agent fighter. The renowned wrestler is expected to receive an offer from the UFC at some point, and as a result, Askren’s impressive run with Bellator might be over.

“Please, god, don’t let him sign with the UFC,” the 35 year-old Coy (12-4) added, who will fight Andy Uhrich (8-3) later this month at Portland’s Rose Garden Arena. “I want that fight with Ben Askren. It’s really made me focus when I signed this contract. Practices are going well and I’m getting good training with my coaches and training partners, and I’m ready. I have it in my heart, so I just want to get out there and demonstrate what I’ve been training every day.”

Nathan Coy

“I haven’t had fights consistently, but I’ve been training every day since I started the sport basically,” said Coy, who won the Maximum Fighting Championship’s welterweight title last May after stopping McGillivray. “A lot of people say that but mostly I’ve been training every day. So I’m ready for this; it’s going to be a big opportunity and I’m ready to show what I’m capable of. It’s my turn.”

While Coy fought just two times in 2012 and has only competed once in 2013, he continues to train with many of the world’s top fighters in Coconut, Florida. Not only is Coy a member of American Top Team, but he is one of the team’s wrestling coaches.

“I’m more of a lead by example type of the guy in the room,” said Coy, while discussing his coaching role with ATT. “If I were to stress the wrestling aspect of MMA, guys can just improve by getting gritty, demanding their takedowns, be confident that they’re going to put a guy down onto their back and beat them up.”

“That’s what we do in wrestling and that’s what I try to focus on and try to tell these guys on a weekly basis, on a daily basis. You need to come in and you need to be tough, and you need to get what you want out of the sport. I think that’s what wrestling is and that’s what I try to do at American Top Team.”

The September 27th, Bellator 101 card will also feature the opening round of the promotion’s next lightweight tourney and will be broadcast on SPIKE.